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I never thought I would like an intercom or listening to music while riding but my wife and I are going on a long tour soon so I decided to try an intercom with music. Granted there are some advantages to NOT being able to communicate but I thought it would be nice to be able to point things out while on the road, like 'Check out the Elk to the left!' or pass along pertinent information like 'Hold on Honey, we're going to embarrass this goof in the cage'.
I've heard a lot of good and bad about different systems such as Collett, Nady, and Chatterbox. It seems that, to a certain extent, you get what you pay for. The two higher end systems that I considered are Baehr and Autocom. The Baehr systems are the most expensive, running as high as $1000. That was out of my range so I looked into the Autocom system. There is a guy (Keith) on the FJR Owner's forum who sells the Autocom and has an excellent reputation on the forum. I called him and discussed my needs, which were:
-Rider to Passenger communication
-Input for portable music device (MP3 player, Satellite radio, etc.)
-True stereo sound. I was surprised how many systems had only mono sound, including some of the Baehr systems.
-Portability between bikes
Keith was very helpful. He suggested mounting the system in a tank bag and installing a bulkhead connector on the tank bag for 12 volt input power. He recommended a Powerlet power plug (used on BMWs) mounted on the fairing dash panel on the FJR and a simple trailer light type connector for the GS. He also highly recommended Satellite radio over an MP3 player due to ease of operation and virtually endless entertainment choices.
Keith hooked me up with EVERYTHING I needed to complete the job, including cables, connectors, hardware, a terminal block, and instructions. He sent me everything without me giving him any money or a credit card. He just said to get it all installed, send back any parts that I didn't need, and then send a check for the balance.
So I took a day last weekend and did a very nice, clean install. The intercom unit is about the size of a deck of cards. There is a 4x2 terminal strip for power distribution. It is about the size of a pack of gum. There is also a cigarette lighter power source for the XM Radio that Keith modified by taking it apart and hard wiring power leads into the housing. These three components are mounted on a piece of plexiglass with screws(terminal block) or velcro (intercom and XM power source). The bulkhead connector attaches to the front of the tank bag and has a two pin plug for input power. On the FJR a cable with a Powerlet connector on one end and a trailer lighting type connector on the other supplies power to the tank bag. On the GS a trailer type plug runs directly to the battery and plugs into the front of the tank bag. The wire is easily tucked under the gas tank when not in use. The XM Radio (Delphi Roady2) mounts to the map pocket on top of the tank bag with velcro. An inline volume control mounts to the side of the Roady2 with velcro. I can easily switch between preset stations and adjust volume on the Roady2 with gloves on. The antenna is about the size of a small stack of quarters and has a powerful magnet on it. I just stick it on one of the screws on the brake master cylinder and it works great. The speakers and microphone are semi-permanently mounted in the helmets. They are very secure but can be removed and put in other helmets if desired. There is a cable with a 5 pin DIN connector for each helmet.
Yesterday was the first time we got to use the system. It took a little fiddling with the settings and speaker and microphone placement to get it dialed in but once dialed in it seems to be stable and needs no tweaking. Here's how it works: The XM Radio plays through both helmets' speakers in true stereo sound at a volume determined by the inline volume control. When either person speaks, voice activation (VOX), which has adjustable sensitivity, cuts the music volume roughly in half and transmits the voice through both helmets. The volume of the voice is adjustable on the intercom unit. The music remains at the lower level as long as there is conversation going on. If there is no conversation for a few seconds the music is ramped back up to its original volume. It all takes place very naturally and conversation is easy, no need to shout or even talk louder than in normal conversation.
The music sounds great and adds a lot to a ride. It really makes the time go by faster and makes the ride more enjoyable. The only problem I see is deciding which station to listen to due to our different tastes in music. I thought it would distract me from riding but it really didn't. After a few hours I tried turning the music off and missed it immediately. When we got into some serious riding I simply switched the radio off so I could concentrate completely.
The whole package cost $481 plus a day's labor. Not exactly cheap but well worth the money as far as I'm concerned. I think it is worth paying more money for a quailty solution as opposed to trying to go cheap and ending up with a frustrating solution that has poor sound and erratic operation like I've heard often happens with some other systems. I'm pretty handy with electrical stuff so it wasn't hard. I spent a lot of time trying to make the install as clean as possible.
I have to say that if you ride regularly with a significant other a quality intercom will make it much easier to get that person on the bike for a ride. And when you're riding alone you'll probably find that the music is a very welcome addition to your ride.
I'll post some pics of the system soon............
Thanks,
Joe
I've heard a lot of good and bad about different systems such as Collett, Nady, and Chatterbox. It seems that, to a certain extent, you get what you pay for. The two higher end systems that I considered are Baehr and Autocom. The Baehr systems are the most expensive, running as high as $1000. That was out of my range so I looked into the Autocom system. There is a guy (Keith) on the FJR Owner's forum who sells the Autocom and has an excellent reputation on the forum. I called him and discussed my needs, which were:
-Rider to Passenger communication
-Input for portable music device (MP3 player, Satellite radio, etc.)
-True stereo sound. I was surprised how many systems had only mono sound, including some of the Baehr systems.
-Portability between bikes
Keith was very helpful. He suggested mounting the system in a tank bag and installing a bulkhead connector on the tank bag for 12 volt input power. He recommended a Powerlet power plug (used on BMWs) mounted on the fairing dash panel on the FJR and a simple trailer light type connector for the GS. He also highly recommended Satellite radio over an MP3 player due to ease of operation and virtually endless entertainment choices.
Keith hooked me up with EVERYTHING I needed to complete the job, including cables, connectors, hardware, a terminal block, and instructions. He sent me everything without me giving him any money or a credit card. He just said to get it all installed, send back any parts that I didn't need, and then send a check for the balance.
So I took a day last weekend and did a very nice, clean install. The intercom unit is about the size of a deck of cards. There is a 4x2 terminal strip for power distribution. It is about the size of a pack of gum. There is also a cigarette lighter power source for the XM Radio that Keith modified by taking it apart and hard wiring power leads into the housing. These three components are mounted on a piece of plexiglass with screws(terminal block) or velcro (intercom and XM power source). The bulkhead connector attaches to the front of the tank bag and has a two pin plug for input power. On the FJR a cable with a Powerlet connector on one end and a trailer lighting type connector on the other supplies power to the tank bag. On the GS a trailer type plug runs directly to the battery and plugs into the front of the tank bag. The wire is easily tucked under the gas tank when not in use. The XM Radio (Delphi Roady2) mounts to the map pocket on top of the tank bag with velcro. An inline volume control mounts to the side of the Roady2 with velcro. I can easily switch between preset stations and adjust volume on the Roady2 with gloves on. The antenna is about the size of a small stack of quarters and has a powerful magnet on it. I just stick it on one of the screws on the brake master cylinder and it works great. The speakers and microphone are semi-permanently mounted in the helmets. They are very secure but can be removed and put in other helmets if desired. There is a cable with a 5 pin DIN connector for each helmet.
Yesterday was the first time we got to use the system. It took a little fiddling with the settings and speaker and microphone placement to get it dialed in but once dialed in it seems to be stable and needs no tweaking. Here's how it works: The XM Radio plays through both helmets' speakers in true stereo sound at a volume determined by the inline volume control. When either person speaks, voice activation (VOX), which has adjustable sensitivity, cuts the music volume roughly in half and transmits the voice through both helmets. The volume of the voice is adjustable on the intercom unit. The music remains at the lower level as long as there is conversation going on. If there is no conversation for a few seconds the music is ramped back up to its original volume. It all takes place very naturally and conversation is easy, no need to shout or even talk louder than in normal conversation.
The music sounds great and adds a lot to a ride. It really makes the time go by faster and makes the ride more enjoyable. The only problem I see is deciding which station to listen to due to our different tastes in music. I thought it would distract me from riding but it really didn't. After a few hours I tried turning the music off and missed it immediately. When we got into some serious riding I simply switched the radio off so I could concentrate completely.
The whole package cost $481 plus a day's labor. Not exactly cheap but well worth the money as far as I'm concerned. I think it is worth paying more money for a quailty solution as opposed to trying to go cheap and ending up with a frustrating solution that has poor sound and erratic operation like I've heard often happens with some other systems. I'm pretty handy with electrical stuff so it wasn't hard. I spent a lot of time trying to make the install as clean as possible.
I have to say that if you ride regularly with a significant other a quality intercom will make it much easier to get that person on the bike for a ride. And when you're riding alone you'll probably find that the music is a very welcome addition to your ride.
I'll post some pics of the system soon............
Thanks,
Joe